Maelstorm
by khyl
Summary: One day, 30,000 games are suddenly trapped in the MMORPG world of Elder Tales. Natsuki Kuga is a veteran players, playing as Kruger, she was just waiting for the new expansion pack, Novasphere's Pioneers, to go live. Forced to adapt to this fantasy world, no one knows what awaits them in this new world.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: The Mai-Hime/Mai-Otome characters belong to Sunrise. The plot belongs to Touno Mamare-Sensei(Log Horizon).**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Prologue**

"Juliet, pay attention to your right!"

"Right, leave it to me!"

Juliet replied to Kruger's warning with a yell, raising her silver shield and eliminate the Triffid.

"Kruger-nee!"

With one blow, Miroku quickly restrained the green twisted ivy reaching out from the left, and right after that, she lowered her body and positioned herself to protect Kruger.

This zone is called the **Herbery of Small Stone**.

It is a small zone, but as it hold ancient entertainment facilities, it is different from the ruins surrounding it. There are great variations in its terrain and combat was difficult.

"Then again, isn't this a little too many?"

"Their numbers increase whenever Juliet cracks a dirty joke."

"Ah!? So you mean it's my fault, you shrimp!?"

Without replying to Juliet's retort, Kruger cast a bluish white magic arrow and fired it at the Briar Weasels. Mind Bolt is a basic magic attack of Enchanters, an arrow of mental energy that struck a single enemy.

While Kruger was looking at the rodent-like creature that was roughly a meter in height as it shrieked and jumped about, an icon appeared on her mind.

The icon had turned pale to represent its recast time, and it was slowly recovering like an hourglass. Until the icon regained its luster, that spell was unusable. However, there were close to 30 other skills that Kruger could utilize.

"Rush them! Miroku, attack the left flank!"

"Roger!"

"Leave it to me!"

Furthermore, even if all of her skills were unusable, Kruger currently had two comrades with her.

"Haa! Let's rock! Shield Smash!"

The silver-armored warrior who quickly advanced down the moss-covered path and swept her shield sideways, moving enemies down, was Juliet. She was a red head with lime green eyes and she was Kruger's friend from the old days.

Her class is Guardian. Among the 3 warrior classes that could single-handedly draw in and tank enemies' assaults, Guardians boast the greatest defensive abilities and, in Elder Tales, are nicknamed "Unbreakable Shield."

There are 3 main builds for Guardian:

Fortress, a standard one-hand sword and shield style.

Scarlet Knight, two-handed weapon with HP absorption effect and no shield, compensating damage taken with HP Absorption effect of the weapon.

Juggernaut, build with an emphasis on continuous usage of skills rather than normal auto-attack. Similar to Scarlet Knight, they require very specific equipment to use and thus, hardly anyone build them.

"... Too slow!"

A young girl, who gave one the impression of a dangerous obsidian dagger, made a quick dash into the gap that appeared from Juliet's assault. A strange creature, that looked like a burst rugby ball with glass-like fangs growing from it, attacked but she cut it down swiftly with her short katana as she passed it.

This petite girl with spiky black hair is Miroku.

Her class is Assassin. It is a resourceful class that wielded one-hit kill skills. It boasts of having the strongest melee attack among the 12 classes of Elder Tales.

The 3 main builds for Assassin:

Shadow Blade, focuses on sneak attack and burst damage.

Sniper, bow-weapon build that focuses on rear guard support.

Sword Dancer, focuses on more steady damage, with Dual-Wielding weapons.

Though Kruger viewed the movements of these two in fascination, she hurriedly advanced forward.

Kruger is an Enchanter.

Amongst the three magic attack classes, it is a 100% support class type specializing in support and battle status magic. As was common for magic attack classes, the Enchanter's defense is not something that anyone in their right mind would rely on. Leaving out Juliet's full-plated armor, Enchanter couldn't even equip the regular leather armor of Adventurers set, like the one Miroku is wearing.

Under the huge white gown-looking mantle of hers, there is nothing more than a rather ordinary tunic shirt and a pair of trousers.

Kruger, who was the rear support without any defensive abilites, could not be left alone on the battlefield. She needed to take the opponent's Area-Of-Affect(AOE) magic into account while keeping in mind, that being overly close to the front lines could be dangerous. So, the best method is to be wary of any ambushed in the rear, while maintaining a set of distance from Juliet and Miroku to make sure that her magic is still in its AOE zone if she needs to buff her comrades.

Needless to say, the Herbery of Small Stone is not a field-zone of high difficulty.

The monsters that could appear in this zone are Triffids, Briar Weasels, and Venom Moths; all around level 50.

Kruger and the other two are level 90 Adventurers.

In the world of MMORPG, Elder Tales, they are currently, at the highest level possible. Even if Kruger's defense is low, she wouldn't receive much damage with that much of a level gap.

Furthermore, although Juliet was up against a large number of opponents, even if it were just ten or twenty Triffids, they are opponents of a level where they could be taken care of single-handedly by any of the three party members.

(Even so, the current situation...)

Till now, the three of them all had carefree looks on their faces, chatting and bickering, but Juliet and Miroku both had serious expressions right now.

Battles are terrifying.

Even if one had a strong body or a sound mind, even is one cast magic or used a sword skill, when facing a monster, fear still lingered.

Both feet on the ground, hands firmly gripping her staff, they were all parts of her body. The wind that blew past her cheeks, the piercing howls of the monsters, the adrenaline that was pumping through her blood, they were all that Kruger was experiencing at the present moment.

Tooth and claw that suddenly appeared in their faces, flames or attacks of acid assaulted them. Needing to dodge or intercept these attacks at the front-line is a lot harder than they thought. In order to conquer this handicap, they had no choice but to accumulate combat experience, this was the conclusion the three of them had come up with.

"Watch your right!"

"I got it!"

Despite a serious look on her face, Juliet still swiftly looked in the direction that Kruger had warned her from, swinging the longsword in her right hand. Although the strike did not deal a critical hit, it was sufficient to restrict the movements of the Briar Weasels.

The weasel extended its green briar, glaring with its crimson eyes as it chirped two or three times, pulling back by curling its body into a ball.

The attack just now had proven their suspicions.

They were all level 90 Adventurers, originally if they met these monsters that were around level 48, it would be impossible for a situation where there would be an "Attack Failure".

This proved that the cooperation between the two was still insufficient.

Despite being level 90 Adventurers, they were still unable to wield their skills to the best of their best abilities yet.

"Nightmare Sphere!"

That was why they had to carry out their roles the best they could. Kruger, who had arrived at this conclusion executed an AOE skills. Nightmare Sphere is an AOE attack magic that Enchanters possessed.

Although it is an offensive skill, the damage that it actually dealt is very little.

The Enchanter class is not versed in offensive magic from the start. Compared to other classes of the same level, the attack magic that Enchanters could dish out by themselves is very weak; this is a fact known to everyone.

Nightmare Sphere had traced out an arc, landing right in the middle of the weasels and the moving plants, violently exploding. However, it seemed that it did not cause much damage to the opponents at all.

Even though they are monsters who had levels half of hers, she was still unable to defeat them in one strike; only able to use attacks of such low damage. This is a trait possessed by Enchanters.

As such, Enchanters was an unpopular class in Elder Tales. They are so rare, such that some players have no knowledge that they even exist.

Online players are ruthless. In a world where language and communication is restricted, numbers are something that is absolute. Despite being in a game universe and precisely because it is a game universe, is the cause of this world having such caste-like society that was even more heartless and strict than the real world.

The classes that are high popular and the outcast classes have a very large evaluation and population gap.

However, even though it isn't popular with normal players, Kruger is happy with her own class. It would be great if she has some special ability, but despite lacking that, she is still able to find a way to enjoy playing this class. This is Kruger's style of playing and the truth is, Kruger never once feel troubled when she plays this class.

Kruger likes the Enchanter class.

Including this troublesome trait, its weak abilities as well as its hidden versatility, Kruger is interested in all of them. The class that is "useless when left alone," it is completely different from Kruger's own shortcomings, Kruger likes that particular point very much.

The Nightmare Sphere that Kruger cast, released mental wave in its area of effect. The multiple enemies caught in its area are all suffering grave mental trauma, resulting in a huge drop in movement speed.

It is the status ailment of movement speed reduction.

Nightmare Sphere is a skill that had short effect duration, but is capable of inflicting a crippling effect on its target.

"Yeah! I can fight better like this!"

"Always at the right moment, Kruger-nee."

The two cried out with elated voices. The monsters that the three were currently embroiled with were Triffids and Briar Weasels. Although they look menacing and hideous, the height of the two monsters are only around a meter.

Once their movement speed dropped, they would only need to step in boldly, and let their attacks hit.

"Alright, I got one!"

"Same here!"

"Not bad, shrimp!"

"I'm not a shrimp, icky Spider!"

Miroku sticked her tongue out.

"What!? Who taught you that!? The Mutt!?"

"Don't go blaming Kruger-nee, icky Spider!"

"You're just saying that cause Mutt feeds you. I'll feed you a lot of food if you call me Mistress Juliet."

"Food? Like rotten flies?"

"Wh- You brat!"

"Pft- Hahaha!"

"Stop laughing, Mutt! Geez..."

(I don't think I'll ever be depressed with these two, even after that... event...)

As long as an opportunity is provided and ample support is given, they should be able to repeatedly defeat monsters. Kruger only needs to provide rear support for the two, if the two have leftover monsters that they miss, she would only need to use magic to restrain them as well as provide a small damage while waiting for her two main attackers to come back and help her.

Lowering the movement speed of the opponent is something that would turn the tables to one's advantage. Since that point is understood, Kruger would know what she would do, that would mean using similar Nightmare Sphere or Astral Bind restraining type of magic to restrict the enemies, completely taking on the role of supporting the front lines.

Thinking closely, it is not that big of a deal at all, it is a basic battle strategy that has been repeated countless times.

(At the very least, we can't continue struggling with these lower level opponents; I still haven't tested a new formation yet.)

Kruger pondered over such thought.

"Take that!"

"Haa!"

A sharp yell from both vanguards. Juliet and Miroku are veteran players with tons of gaming experience.

As long as there is an opportunity, they would become partners that focused on teamwork who got along remarkably well. At least strategically.

Her preconceived doubts vanished.

"It's over like that?"

Juliet swing her one-hand sword in a large arc, wiping the blood off her sword before returning it to its sheath.

Coming back to her senses, the battle is already over.

Kruger nodded her head in reply in response to Juliet's question, dispelling the magic that she had been readying.

"We defeated a lot of monsters already."

"There seems to be no more indications of any enemies in the surroundings, maybe it'd be best to stay alert for a while... I'm sorry, but can you two help with the loot?"

Kruger called out while observing the surrounding. There is nothing wrong with being overly careful if anybody is in their circumstances.

The battle warning indication on her mind changed from red to a calming blue, indication that the battle mode was deactivated.

Juliet and Miroku started to loot the monsters that they had defeated.

This was survival instinct that they had honed for the past few weeks.

There shouldn't be any abrupt incidents that might happen. Kruger withdrew a water bottle from her magic bag at her hip and took a sip, pricking her ears for any sign of trouble.

(Really now, in the end the one that keeps on thinking negatively is me.)

Kruger let out a long sigh.

Looking down, it is the edge of her white cloak, made from tough cloth that is suitable for outdoor activities, long pants that seem to be of high quality. If she remembers correctly, the shoes that she is currently wearing are made from Thunder Elk's leather, boots that are soft and comfortable.

As for what she is carrying, it is a staff.

Staff of the Wise Owl - it is a rare item that is able to raise her magical power and reduce casting speed. It is her treasure.

Around two meters long, it is longer than Kruger's height.

Her appearance gave her a sort of mysterious air. Kruger thought that such a design looked great, the word "great" was not the feeling that she'd use in the real world, but the feeling that would feel inside the virtual world.

After that day when the incident coined as the Catastrophe happened, everything around Kruger and the others had totally changed.

It wasn't as grandiose nor as sweet as heroic epics, but full of sarcasm, muddied, stress-laden and tough. Another Reality. A Parallel World. A Fantasy World. Those would be the closest words to describe it.

The "Reality" mentioned, are the monsters that Kruger and her friends had just fought against.

It is the reason why Kruger is paying attention to any movement around her, it is the ruins that was shrouded in greenery, it is the teammates who wielded their weapons and looting the treasures.

A cold wind blew through the forest, bringing chill with it.

As well as leaving behind the fear of battle under her skin.

All of this, is currently the "Reality" that Kruger is living in.

Kruger and her friends seemed to have been confined in the world that is supposed to be just a game, Elder Tales. After the Catastrophe happened, everything changed.

(However, if we can do battle like this we can earn money as long as we fight. We have a bed waiting for us when we go back. Furthermore, since I can meet Juliet and Miroku because of this in many different scenario, this can be said to be the most fortunate of events.)

Kruger repeatedly sighed, forcibly changing her gloomy thinking into something more positive.

The scene of the day when the Catastrophe happened flashed in her head, the scene of countless players holing up in Akiba. Kruger did not wish to be like them as they fell into a swamp of despair.

Kruger observed her surroundings as she recounted the chain of events that happened on the day of the Catastrophe.

The day 30,000 online gamers suddenly found themselves trapped in this fantasy world.

* * *

 **Author's Moment of Rambling:**

I fall in love with Log Horizon. It's such a genius plot. It's what I had hoped SAO to be. Alas, it became another boring romance.

One day, I thought the 'What If' scenario of what if ShizNat were trapped in an online world because well... I'm getting kind of bored with all the usual romance/vampire/pirate/etc idea.

Suggestions are welcome. Trolls and flames are ignored.

bla bla bla bla bla...

 **Omake**

Mikoto: (X.X)

Nao: What's up with the shrimp?

Natsuki: The food in this world tastes like soggy cardboard...

Nao: Ah (-_-') we can't really die in this world, so dying from hunger is out of the option.

Natsuki: *Nod* It's probably the worst torture for Mikoto.

Nao: Lucky you, Mutt! Mayonnaise is an ingredient so it has taste like salt and sugar.

Natsuki: ...

Nao: What? Why are you looking at me like that?

Natsuki: Nao, I know that we probably wouldn't die from Salmonella or E Coli, but please don't eat rotten flies.

Nao: ...

Natsuki: ...

Nao: I'LL KILL YOU! YOU FLEA BAG!


	2. Catastrophe - Part 1

**Disclaimer: The Mai-Hime/Mai-Otome characters belong to Sunrise. The rest belongs to Touno Mamare-Sensei (Log Horizon).**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Catastrophe Part 1**

 **The Beginning of A New World**

A tree stump a few meters tall was there, just as she had guessed. She went around that stump and made a turn at the two-story building. It was right where she remembered it to be.

Green moss had spread throughout the land. The asphalt, once ubiquitous, appeared infrequently here and there. Kruger dashed through the ruins. The buildings stood in close succession, coild and sometimes pierced by giant, ancient trees.

She was running this past scenery that she hadn't seen before, yet it still felt somewhat familiar to her.

There were silhouettes of people curled up in the streets.

These were likely Adventurers in the same situation as Kruger. Their moans and screams made Kruger forcibly suppress the fear that gradually rose up her throat.

But she was barely putting up a show.

"What's happening?"

"I-I'm strange, what's this!?"

"What the hell is happening!? Hey, get the Game Master! Are you listening, you Landers!?"

A panicked gamer threatened an NPC, who was also as clueless as him. The Landers or People of the Land are the main NPC, Non Playable Character, in this world.

"Ah, I-I..."

Their screams sounded like dying animals.

Those excessively miserable screams brought back a tiny amount of composure in Kruger. To not scream like that was the sole thought keeping her going.

(I can move my body as I like... It's uncomfortable because the length of my limbs seem to be slightly different... Thankfully not too much...)

What spread before her eyes was the city of Akiba.

Many abandoned buildings were intertwined with ivy, reaching out vigorously from the asphalt here and there. The vines blended with the ancient, spriti-blessed trees. Nostalgia washed over her. This is the hometown of many Japanese gamers, the largest city of the Japanese server of Elder Tales.

"Akiba? Ridiculous! Am I going crazy!? Someone, someone, answer me!"

A man cowering nearby shouted. Everyone was dressed as a citizen of a Middle-Ages fantasy world, wearing full-length clothing or even armor.

That was normal.

Elder Tales is the world's largest MMORPG with a theme based on a world of swords and magic. After 20 years, it has earned itself a dedicated millions of players with 13 servers across all continents. On the Japanese server alone, there are about 100,000 active players who have created some 1,200,000 unique characters.

It was originally an American MMORPG created by Atharva Inc. Each of its 13 worldwide servers has a local company running the game, coming up with their own special events, classes, and subclasses. In the Japanese server, the Samurai and Kannagi are special classes, only available here. To assimilate with the local gamer culture, companies tried to change 1 or 2 original classes with special classes only available in that particular server.

The world of Elder Tales is based on the Half Gaia Project, a half-scale model of planet Earth. The only difference with Eart is the post-apocalyptic setting. With countless customization from 8 Races and 12 Classes, not to mention the Subclasses, it is no wonder that Elder Tales becomes so successful.

But then, it was 'just a game.'

The wind brushing Kruger's cheeks was cold, moist and refreshing, like she was in the middle of a thick forest.

The air was different from the dry and somewhat prickly air in Fuuka where Natsuki lived. The wind, twisted with the smell of greenery, told her that this place wasn't the world she was familiar with.

Kruger shook her head and thought back.

She was in front of her monitor, waiting for the new 12th expansion, Novasphere's Pioneers, to finish installing. The new world-wide release expansion would bring new items, new zones, new monsters and battles; and, above else, raise the level cap from 90 to 100.

Kruger didn't have a sound way of investigating how many players would sit in front of their monitor waiting for the new expansion to finish installing, but new expansion packs always bring a lot of gamers online. That is why companies make them. More players means more money. And, more players need more expansion packs.

She checked her Friend List and many of the icons say 'Online.'

(Juliet! Nao is also involved in this!?)

After clicking 'Juliet' and choosing 'Call', a dialing sound rang in her head.

"Kr-Natsuki!? Is that you?"

"Nao! Where are you? Let's meet up!"

"Hmm... Underneath the Silverleaf Tree?"

(I guess she's also not sure about this... Fantasy...)

"Got it! I'm on my way!"

* * *

Kruger is a veteran players with 8 years of Elder Tales gaming experience.

She has been playing since she was in middle school when the real world became too unbearable. Elder Tales is where she would run to when everything feels too much for her littleself to handle.

The last memory that she had, was of her being approached by 2 new players after the expansion pack finished installing and she managed to login.

But after that, her memory was abruptly cut.

Kruger remembered seeing some sort of demo. Words of shining flames in a black scene. The sky was filled with sticky darkness like asphalt scrolling quickly and a white moon that cut out that blackness.

And, that was it.

Now, Kruger is running in Akiba as her own pair of legs that had turned real kicking off the ground.

(I hope Shiz- Ah, Viola would be okay too. Well, she would probably be busy considering how many pets she got.)

Suddenly, a ding sound, signaling an incoming telepathy ring in her head. It was a familiar rhythmic sound like that of a xylophone being played before.

Kruger concentrated on her forehead in a way like she was squinting her eyes and selected a menu that appeared in her mind. After suddenly being transported into this fantasy world and letting go of the panic she felt at first, Kruger quickly picked up these controls.

(Viola?)

A relief flooded her chest.

"Shi-Viola?"

"Kru-Natsuki?"

"I'm here. Are you alright?"

"Y-yes. I'm with Armitage and Chrysant. We're going to gather our guild members and start from there."

"Ah, your pet- I mean your loyal Drei Klauen. Yes, that seems to be the best course of action at this point."

"A-are you... W-Would you like to come too?"

(Shizuru... Worrywart as usual...)

A small smile slowly starts to appear on Kruger's handsome Hal-Alv face.

"I'll be fine, Shizuru. I'm going to meet up with Juliet."

"I see."

(That was cold. What did I do?)

"Y-yes. S-So, maybe I'll stop by at your place later?"

"Ara... I suppose that will do for now. However, I shall expect My Natsuki to be prepare for a punishment because she is seeing Juliet-han first before she even think of seeing me in this romantic fantasy world."

"Sigh... It's not like that. This is the first time Na-Juliet login in two years. I'm just worried."

"Ara! So, Kruger-han is not worried about weak old me?"

"O-Of course I do! I was just thinking about you before you call- Ah! Nothing! Besides, you have a whole army at your command! And, you're not old!"

(Really, why is my face hot even when I am a game character in a fantasy world... Baka Shizuru...)

"Ara~ I understand~ I will see you later at 6PM sharp then, Na-Tsu-Ki~ Mwah!"

"Oi! It's Kruger! Don't use my real na-!"

The line was cut off before she could finished her sentence.

(Really! That insatiable woman!)

Shizuru Fujino.

She was an untouchable existence to Natsuki before, like a bright star on the night sky.

If Shizuru was a popular and bright person, Natsuki was the opposite. She was a loner and the outcast of society.

A student council president at the high school Natsuki was enrolled in.

People said that her family came from a long line of nobles from the Heian era.

Natsuki never thought that such a high class princess would be similar to her, preferring to spend her time in front of a monitor.

Kruger had joined Viola's party, helping them with a full scale raid before.

Through voice chat, both realized that they went to the same school.

How could you not, when there was only one girl with a very distinct kyoto-ben at school.

After that, Viola had been harassing Kruger to join her guild.

Kruger could never understood why Viola would keep on asking her and never give up doing that.

At first, she thought that Viola is someone to be wary of.

But overtime, she came to enjoy her persistence effort because Viola always say, "I just like being with you. Is that a wrong reason for asking you to join?"

Kruger could not answer that because she liked the feeling of someone thinking of her so highly like that. But, liking is different from accepting it.

* * *

While Kruger was busy cursing Viola, another ring came inside her head.

"You here yet, Mutt?"

"I'm almost there!"

Kruger listened to the voice of her old friend as she made another right turn at an abandoned building on the verge of collapse.

The clear sound of her cutting through the top of the trees and a humid smell were carried by the gentle breeze. And then, there was the dazzling light.

This brightness was something once couldn't experience, unless one witnessed it in early summer. Under the cool winds, instead of bringing heat, the sun rays simply burst with white radiance. A pure, overwhelming intensity of light.

The city was illuminated by the light of early summer. The ancient giant trees and buildings cast deep black shadows on the main streets covered in black soil and asphalt. The contrast was beautiful.

The scene that was spreading out before Kruger's eyes was something she had seen countless, countless times: the hometown of the game world, the city of Akiba.

However, that scene had an overwhelming sense of realism that was impossible for a game and it was enveloping Kruger completely.

Kruger was sprinting in this scenery with her very own legs.

Every step she took, she felt the slipperiness of wet moss crushed by her sole. She felt her heart strongly pumping her blood to every nook and cranny of her body, which was heating up from the exercise.

This was something she couldn't doubt; this was reality.

The city was, indeed as Kruger remembered it, the city of Akiba.

The crumbling ruins, the repeatedly extending Barrack bars, and the old trees spreading their roots on the roads were all swallowed by a green forest as they coexisted. This was the game setting of the holy ground of the ancients. This is Akiba.

Withing the League of Freedom Towns Eastal, the eastern of crescent-shaped moon archipelago, Yamato, Akiba is the hometown of the players and the core city of the Japanese server in Elder Tales.

She ran through the center of the street and made a turn at a corner of a three-story inn-and-bar.

The crumbling ruins were buildings made of concrete: Suftek, Yashikayama Electronics, Kulta Tower, etc. Various buildings and famous landmarks gave the impression of the real world's Akibahara, and they were reconstructed as ruins of an older era in Elder Tales.

The legacies of the old era were sleeping here and there in this world. They could be giant underground ruins or towers that pierced the skies. This city of Akiba was a legacy itself.

As if clinging on, buildings made of logs were extending the giant concrete structures that were on the verge of becoming rubble, and all of that was embraced within the bosom of the ancient trees. The scenery was miraculous.

After Kruger arrived, Juliet, who was sitting on concrete debris, stood up and waved her hand at her.

The lights shone in from holes without window frames in the wall, illuminating the two of them better than any game engine could have managed.

Juliet looked pale, but she still laughed heartily and slapped her sheath.

She was around 5' 3" tall, wearing dull but remarkably strong steel armor over her body. Juliet had a shield on her back and looked like an ancient heroic valkyrie in her get-up.

"Kruger!"

"Juliet! It's been a while!"

Elder Tales had a standard voice chat system; players were able to communicate while playing the game by using speakers or headsets with microphone, like chatting through skype or webcam. Some players didn't like to use voice chat and insisted on text messages, but Kruger and Juliet preferred the hands-on communication because it was faster.

That was why Kruger remembered and was very familiar with Juliet-Nao's voice.

Nao Yuuki.

If anyone asked Kruger who was the most reliable person in the game, she would be among the first few choices that came to mind.

Kruger had played Elder Tales for many years, so she knew quite a lot of people in the game. But the people you knew in the game remained in the game. Different people might have different playing styles and opinions, but most people would not reveal their real identity in the game world.

But this doesn't meant that you couldn't make real friends.

Juliet knew Kruger's real name, meaning they have met offline as well.

They might have met in person before, but they had spent much more time conversing through the game screen. Juliet spent countless nights with Kruger in the Debauchery Tea Party, visiting countless zones, experiencing countless battles together.

For Kruger, this cheerful and reliable voice was the symbol of Juliet.

"What's with this situation? Did Elder Tales evolve to this level and become some sort of VRMMORPG while I wasn't playing? To be honest, this is too real for me... This isn't possible with just improving the level of particle effects and rendering machines right? Is this a joke?"

Juliet pouted as she asked Kruger. Her cheerful and chatty voice sounded a bit depressed.

"This is nerve wrecking."

Kruger vaguely nodded and raised her magic staff in her hand.

(Come on, this a magic staff, a real magic staff!?)

This is a commonly seen item in fantasy games. It was made by grinding and bending a long and slender tree branch, and reinforcing it with metal. Just like a magic staff used by magicians.

They only place you could find this is in cosplay stores.

She probably noticed Kruger's silent reproach.

Juliet bent her head to check herself out. She was wearing steel armor that seemed to weigh dozens of kilograms, with a shield on her back and a sword with an elegant hilt on her waist. Juliet looked like a typical warrior in a fantasy setting.

"Eh, I look like a cosplayer myself."

"Yeah..."

Even though they were not sounds of joy, the two of them looked at each other and laughed.

"Now that you mention it, you... Look the same."

"You too."

The two of them observed each other's appearance.

Kruger and Juliet were basically game avatars in Elder Tales. The avatars in the game were originally constructed using 3D models, hardly looked real at all. But the two of them existed for real in this world, in which everything was as detailed as reality.

But if you looked closely, this was not turning the game into reality. As a game, the characters of Elder Tales were designed for both males and females.

Since it was a monthly subscription pay-to-pay game, there were very few players who intentionally chose ugly appearances. To meet the demand of the players, the company create beautiful 3D model according to Japanese beauty standard.

But Juliet was not just turning her stylish avatar in Elder Tales into reality. Kruger had seen her in real life several times, and she looked exactly like she remembered.

"Juliet, your face looks very similar to your real face. Mischievous and Slutty."

With the scar that ran through her left eye of her avatar gone, Juliet's face revealed her own bright lime green eyes with pointy corners. Her adult face had a small cherry nose and rosy lips to match.

"You too, Kruger, a serious beady eyes and pointy dog like nose."

"So? What is the current situation? Tell me if you know anything, Ice Princess."

"I would like to tell you, but I don't know anything."

Kruger sounded frustrated by her helplessness. If Juliet wasn't there, she would have been screaming like those panicked people before. She and Juliet kicked away the shattered debris and sat down.

Compared to the suburban area Kruger woke up in, this was closer to the center of Akiba. If you listened carefully, you could hear the despair scream of the urbanites from here.

"First, this is not a dream."

"Yeah."

Kruger nodded and agreed to Juliet's inquiry.

When she regained consciousness, she was in a familiar place... That is not supposed to exist in the real world. Which seemed like the game she was playing.

The body that Natsuki was controlling like her own was a character she controlled in the game, 'Kruger'. But the appearance of this avatar seemed to reflect the real face of Natsuki Kuga.

"Have you seen the status screen?"

"I have."

Since Elder Tales was a game, the strength, stamina and all sorts of abilities were represented in the form of numbers. All sorts of commands in the game were input through the menu.

There were no such game-related screens anywhere you looked in this world. If you focused on your forehead, the world would present a translucent status screen displaying all sorts of values and graphs. By controlling the curson with your mind, you could perform all sorts of action. Both of them realized this about half an hour after waking up.

They also discover the telepathy function, which functions similarly to voice chat in the real world. This allows you to contact your friends that were very far away and online in the game.

However, they could only contact people registered on their friend list.

"..."

"..."

The silence hung between them as both of them though about what to say. But the answer was obvious, Kruger had a better grasp of the situation than Juliet. From what Kruger knew, Juliet hadn't login in the past 2 years.

Kruger told Juliet everything she knew.

Everything wasn't much.

If it were about things that happened during the two years when Juliet wasn't around, they could have talked all day. But Kruger had no clue regarding the reason and background as to why they were involved in this perplexing event.

What she could confirm was that she installed the expansion pack, Novasphere's Pioneers and was playing with two beginners just outside the city when the incident happened.

(Now that I think about it, how are those kids doing... I need to check on them later.)

As Kruger narrated, Juliet listened carefully. When unfamiliar terms popped up she would ask about them, but she didn't interrupt with her own opinions.

Kruger doesn't like noise. She is fine with lively and festive atmosphere, but she dislikes chaotic hustle and bustle. Juliet is cheerful and mischievous, but she is smart enough to listen to others.

Their personality differed, but they hit it off well. Maybe both had the generosity to compromise with each other.

"I see... Eh... Alternate world... An alternate world transported us in, fantasy becomes reality..."

"So Juliet, why are you here? Making a comeback?"

"Yeah, I heard about the new expansion pack, and things at work were calming down so I logged in to check it out..."

(So Juliet is coming back. She was planning on coming back...)

She recalled that Juliet was 2 years her junior, but unlike her, Juliet didn't chose the graduate school route. Hence, she is way up the career ladder than Kruger.

Kruger met Juliet 4 years ago. She was already a veteran gamer in Elder Tales. It is normal for a teenager to play with computers in that era, but Natsuki was one of the few indoor types. Put simply, even if she goes out, her heart is still at home. She is the type of kid who is lonely in the middle of a crowd.

Even after moving on to high school and college, she maintained this form of entertainment, touring the virtual world every day.

Elder Tales already had a special place among online gamers back then. If you wanted to play a challenging game with incredible content, it had to be Elder Tales. This is how players view the game.

For instance, Elder Tales had a grand vision, the Half Gaia Project. It might sound ridiculous, but the goal of the project was to recreate Earth at half its scale.

The starting city for Japanese server in the Kanto region was Akiba, corresponding to Tokyo and its surrounding region in the Japan archipelago. Fuuka, where Natsuki lives, is only an hour away by boat from Tokyo. So naturally, she was sent there when she first play Elder Tales.

North American servers had Big Apple and South Angel as starting cities. Western European servers had Londonheim and Fleur De Vie, just to name a few. South America had Cusco and Amazonia, and so on. It is common for countries like the United States with high player population to have more than 1 starting city.

Japanese and American servers are just convenient names to refer to. The online world was made up of many different servers connected to each other, so it is theoretically possible to head for other continents or even the end of the world.

Hence, one of the selling points of Elder Tales is the ability to travel a world at a size half of Earth. Obviously, this provides a massive open world exploration adventure for players, something normal MMOs could not emulate because of the massive development cost.

The Half Gaia Project is a long term goal; the current game is not a perfect rendition of the real world yet.

In Elder Tales, the world was divided into many zones, each with its own territory and boundaries.

The vast sea of trees in Mount Fuji is a zone where ferocious monsters lurked, the dungeon Shinshuku Metro Complex is a stage for adventure, and the city of Akiba is a non-combat zone.

Going deeper, a room in a hotel is also a small zone. Some zones could be traded. If you accumulate enough in-game coins, you could be a land or home owner.

All zones are connected in their own ways. Open plains, for example, didn't have boundary demarcations, so players weren't able to tell which zone they were actually in. When they moved across zones, they wouldn't even notice.

Some zones have obvious demarcations, like some buildings and rooms, which are individual zones connected elsewhere through a door.

From what Kruger knew, the Japanese server managed tens of thousands of zones.

With such a scale, the developer company had to outsource to other major gaming companies, and knowledgeable veteran players like Kruger are convenient reliable existences.

Kruger had been invited by many guilds during her long tenure in the game, and had joined a guild temporarily, thinking of it as a trial.

Guilds are the most common way for players to form a group in Elder Tales.

After entering a guild, players could access the guild account in the bank and use the guild warehouse to manage their equipment easily as well as other convenient services. The guild members kept in touch with each other, so it was easy to form raid parties.

Most players in Elder Tales joined a guild, since it is convenient and has many benefits.

Since Kruger liked to research game contents and even got news from foreign servers, her knowledge was better than most veteran players who had played as long as she had. From this perspective, Kruger was someone who could contribute greatly to whichever guild she chose to join.

No player could grasp the details of all the zones perfectly. Kruger is not a genius at that level. But things like main routes, the connections between zones, or the transportation devices known as Fairy Rings could shorten your transportation time greatly. What you could buy at which zone or where you could hunt for a specific monster. This kind of knowledge needs to be accumulate slowly over time.

Countless zones, endless varieties of items and monsters, quests, all kinds of ancient lore, and anything else the developers could think of. All of these culminate as Elder Tales.

However, Kruger could not get used to relationships that included elements of convenience and benefit. Even if Kruger didn't make many requests of others, she didn't know how to decline others.

She didn't reject them, but her feelings didn't accept them either.

There were all sorts of people in the game world. As long as there were people, there would be both pure and impure relationships. For the naive and stubborn middle-schooler Kruger, this might have been too shocking.

Kruger noticed that she was being used like a walking encyclopedia. Along with her high level avatar, she was dragged around like an all-purpose tool to fight for the convenience of others.

Kruger couldn't adjust to this type relationship or reject it tactfully, so she chose to leave the guild and mingle with others in temporary raid parties by herself.

Before Kruger realized it, she had become a famous solo player with both deep knowledge and a high level avatar. As her fame grew, she fell deeper into solitude.

Juliet met her when Kruger was starting to get stronger and travel alone, having given up on guilds. Kruger was starting to grow numb to the feeling of solitude.

Kruger and Juliet met in the Debauchery Tea Party.

The Debauchery Tea Party was not a guild. It was just the Debauchery Tea Party. There was no other way to describe it. It was just a group of players who 'just' happened to congregate there.

Even though they 'just' happened to be there, but they were 'always' there and 'ready' to go.

That was the first time Kruger felt like she belonged somewhere.

All of the members joined different guilds.

Their races or classes are all different.

They had nothing in common.

They just gathered in the ruined building. Sometimes in the plains, other times on the hills where you could see the stars.

This group went adventuring to many corners of Elder Tales world.

Elder Tales is a sword and sorcery style fantasy world, set thousands of years into the future. This is the setting the players brought into.

According to the legend of Elder Tales, there had been a massive war on Earth, shattering the old world, which was miraculously reconstructed by the gods into this one.

This is a common mythical setting in fantasy games.

Common mythical monsters like orcs, goblins, trolls, giants, chimeras, and hydras roamed the lands.

Most players found joy in battling. Gaining EXP and leveling up after defeating monsters, looting powerful and rare treasures. This is the common way to play Elder Tales.

But this is just grinding and farming, not real adventuring.

Fighting repeatedly and adventuring are two very different things. Kruger discovered that for the first time in the Debauchery Tea Party. And she could always see 'her' in the Debauchery Tea Party, as well as companions who were helping 'her'. Kruger was also one of her companion.

The people Kruger met in the Debauchery Tea Party might be the first friends she met in Elder Tales. Juliet was one of them.

* * *

 **Author's Rambling:**

I thought Shizuru would make a perfect Krusty, meaning she's going to have the largest guild in the Japanese server(filled with her fans? lol). She's manipulative and lazy whenever she finds any opportunity to do that. Yup, definitely similar to Krusty. There's definitely going to be a lot of jealous Shiznat moment from now on lol

I'm using the Light Novel mostly, so it'll be a bit different from the Anime.

bla bla bla bla bla

 **Omake:**

Shizuru: Ara Natsuki, I finally appeared! The last chapter was a disappointment. There was too much NatNao and NatKoto.

Natsuki: Yes, I can't believe that there will be the day when I would depend on Nao to defend my life *Depressed*

Shizuru: Ara, if Natsuki doesn't like that, maybe she could join my guild? I would gladly protect her with all my might!

Natsuki: *Shuddered* E-Er... I'd rather not...

Shizuru *Pout* Mou... Why not? I have prepared a special place for Natsuki in my guild (On my lap... fu fu fu)

Natsuki: Uh... Um... I don't like places with too many people?

Shizuru: Ara, not a problem! I'll just banish everyone from the guild at this moment! That way, we can always be together, just the two of us. U fu fu fu...

Haruka: Bubuzuke! Are you crazy!? *Grab Shizuru* We're leaving now! Come, Yukino! That delinquent will soon collapse us after she's defile with Bubuzuke!

Yukino: Haruka-chan, it's corrupt and done!


	3. Catastrophe - Part 2

**Disclaimer: All Mai-Hime/Mai-Otome characters belong to Sunrise, the rest belongs to Touno Mamare-Sensei (Log Horizon).**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Catastrophe Part 2**

 **Facts**

"Since you're coming back, does that also mean that your job is slowing down?"

"Yeah, it's more or less slowing down. Sigh... It was such a hectic year."

The Debauchery Tea Party went on for 2 years, which was the most fulfilling and joyful period in Kruger's time in Elder Tales. But after some incidents, the Debauchery Tea Party which created many legends, came to an end.

One of the reasons was Juliet taking a break from the game because of her work in the real world. Several people also left the game due to personal reasons.

The Debauchery Tea Party was not a guild.

Since it was not a guild, they did not have any obligatory relationships. Although everyone was all grown up and wouldn't say it due to embarassment, this group treasured their friendship very much.

It was not decided by anyone, the Debauchery Tea Party just went on an indefinite hiatus. They thought about inviting new friends to carry on the congregation, but that would be a different adventure and story.

Although the Debauchery Tea Party ceasing to function made them sad, no one hung their head in regret. They enjoyed many more adventures than most people and that was rewarding enough.

"Work was finally on track and going sort of smoothly right now. What really sucks is that there's no cute girls at the office."

Juliet hung her head down. Disappointed for spending her time uselessly, regardless of how much she needed money to live in the real world.

"That shouldn't even matter, right? It is work."

Kruger brushed off Juliet's complaints.

Juliet could be described as a 'Hero'.

Kruger thought that Juliet had more courage than her. It might be recklessness in some situations, but Kruger had never seen Juliet stop being a chatterbox no matter what happened.

"What's with that eyes? You closet pervert."

"I'm not a closet of anything."

"Yes, you are. There are 2 type of lesbians in this world, open perverts who admit it and closet perverts who don't. I'm an open pervert who like boobs and you're a closet pervert who definitely like boobs."

Kruger glared at the ridiculous theory, but she wasn't angry.

Juliet had always been sensitive about others and her words were meant to lighten the mood. Even if her dirty and ridiculous jokes might trouble others, Kruger couldn't disapprove the ridiculousness of it because she was a healthy lesbian.

"I also like... Uh, although I like girls, I still have... Standards."

"Oh! Like having a sexy kyoto-ben?"

Kruger's face immediately turned into what could called a Washington red apple.

"Wh- Mou... Enough already."

"Hai, hai... I'm not allowed to tease because I don't have dreamy red eyes and kyoto-ben."

Juliet gave a big disappointing sigh.

Kruger felt like PK(Player Kill)-ing Juliet at that moment.

"Well, even if work is slowing down, I don't really need a vacation in a virtual world. Can we go back, I wonder..."

All the other players trapped in this world should be asking the same question. Juliet expressing this suffocating fact in such a joking manner showed her real mental tenacity and her concern for Kruger.

"I was thinking, maybe a new god or some sort of deity took over and had a delusional fantasy."

"It's so cruel to trap us this way. Really, the whole world has turned upside down, is this some type of festival..."

"Your way of accepting this situation so fast seems cold. As expected of Tea Party's Strategist, Ice Princess."

Juliet replied condescendingly, then shook her head and said with a serious expression.

"Right, no expectations for now. So, going by the fantasy novel settings, we need to survive this by our own from now on?"

She was not happy about this, but Kruger nodded and agreed with Juliet's question. According to Kruger's memory, she had done everything as usual, living normally, eating her favorite mayonnaise, taking baths, choosing matching lingerie, logging in to Elder Tales, and fighting monsters with the beginner kids before her consciousness was cut off.

Everything she did was about the same as usual, but she was forcefully trapped in this circumstance.

It might be due to some external factors or some mistake she made, but there was no way for her to find out.

There might be some way out of this situation and alternate world, but Kruger didn't know how at this point.

In other words, be it searching for a way back or going back to the old world by some unknown external mechanism, they needed to live in this world before that happened.

"We might wake up in our world if we die here, but I wouldn't recommend doing that. Acting like that would be the same as 'borrowing a billion dollars from loan sharks because you think the earth might explode!'"

"Doesn't seem like a wise choice. If dying here meant dying for real, that would be a waste."

"That's right."

"But Tactician Kruger, it shouldn't be a problem if we just want to survive, right?"

"Is it...?"

"Well, we're level 90 Adventurers. It might be bad if we need to challenge a difficult zone or raid, but it shouldn't be hard just living on, right? We have money, we have equipment.. My equipment is a bit outdated, but it'll still work, so there shouldn't be any problem, right?"

Elder Tales was a RPG that used level systems, both Kruger and Juliet were at level 90, the highest level cap from the previous expansion pack in this world.

But this was not something worth mentioning because about half the players were level 90. Their level was quite normal.

Elder Tales had a long history and similar to other MMORPG, it had went through hundreds of updates, adding all sorts of game elements.

Although Kruger didn't experience that period, the level cap when Elder Tales just started was 50. The players enjoyed the Elder Tales world and would grind their characters to the level cap, and request for more quests from the developers.

To meet these demands, the developers published expansion packs. It had new enemies, dungeons, raids, as well as higher level cap so players can get stronger.

The cap of level 90 came with the 'Sacred Heart' expansion 3 years ago. The official announcement for the Novasphere's Pioneers expansion pack included an increase level cap to 100.

Before the release of the new expansion pack, half of the players were already at the level cap.

"...I don't think that's just it."

"Why?"

Juliet was not discouraged even when facing such a situation.

Kruger admired Juliet's optimism, something she believed that she lacked of.

Kruger was filled with unease. Her heart analyzed the situation as if it were driven by this sense of unease.

"We came to this alternate world... Though we don't know if this is simply a game world, but we're sucked into this situation... That's already a strange matter."

"Yeah? Eh, that's not wrong... Uh, so?"

"Simply put, I think that it's impossible to stumble into an alternate world by normal logic. Since something so extraordinary happened, we can't take anything for granted. In other words, we might get hurt if we take it for granted that we'll be fine."

Kruger's words stunned Juliet for a while, and she replied with a resisting expression.

"Your syllogism sounds really nasty."

"My point is that we can't ignore this too."

"You got a point, but..."

Juliet clenched and unclenched her fist repeatedly, maybe she was doubting the reliability of her level 90 body.

"I want to make another thing clear, you might have missed it because of the uproar... But, the new expansion pack should be in effect now."

"Novasphere's Pioneers?"

"Yeah, this means that there will be new equipment, monsters, quest, and more zones as well, right? They might have remodeled some areas too."

"Now that you mention it... That's absolutely right."

Kruger shifted her gaze away from Juliet and continued:

"Magic seems to work here. Choosing the magic from the menu is dangerous and slow in a live battle, but if we set it on the hotkey, we can cast spells after a short cast time. I have confirmed this."

"Yeah, I tried that too. All skills that I learned can be executed."

"But that still doesn't mean that we can win battles."

"Huh? Why not?"

"How tall are you? In real life."

"5' 3", same as my avatar."

Juliet rubbed the top of her head.

"I see, so there should be no strange sensation for you. There's several inches of difference between my real body and my avatar's height, so I feel a bit off in this body. It kind of feels like I'm wearing shoes with thick soles. If the length of the limbs are different, this sensation is even more obvious. There are some differences between this body and our real body, this is not a body we're accustomed to. Even if we can use swords and magic, how accustomed we are to fighting is unknown."

"Ah, you're right. That's quite troublesome, but that just needs some time to get used to, right?"

"...Another important matter is the difficulty in checking the status screen."

Juliet had a surprised face as Kruger carried on.

"We can see the status screen by focusing our mind. If we form a party, we should be able to see each other HP, but to do that in live battle will be hard. I'm still fine because I'm a rear guard, but you, who are on the frontline, will have a hard time keeping track of the status screen while fighting enemies in front of you."

"You mean it's difficult to fight?"

"I think it's better to keep this in mind."

She didn't explain it to Juliet, but the field of vision was crucial as well. You could make your point of view wider if you're playing in front of the monitor and see things from a wider angle just by zooming out using a mouse. But currently, they could only see at an angle of 120 degrees in front of them.

Take trolls and giants as examples, fighting such gigantic foes would create blind sports that weren't there before. There were tons of problems in terms of battles.

"Anything else?"

"Also... Sigh..."

"What is it? Something hard to say?"

Kruger was surprised by her own troubled sigh.

Frankly, the issues with battles and the difference in game environment were trivial. It could be troublesome and more challenging, but Kruger thought that this was something they could overcome over time.

The things that she wanted to say made Kruger's heart heavy, she had been buying time by talking about unimportant things to prepare herself.

"Come on, out with it, Mutt!"

Although Juliet called her that, Kruger was too focused on her thoughts to even think of returning the insult.

Kruger would voice her thoughts because it was Juliet, but she was used to thinking all sorts of things by herself.

Because of her attention to minute details, the Debauchery Tea Party gave her the nickname of 'Tactician'. She had a way with words, so she took on the duty of planning and coordinating battles.

"...The Japanese server of Elder Tales has 1,200,000 registered characters with 100,000 active players."

"Hmm? That's correct. So?"

For players like Kruger, such numbers were common sense.

"Today the new expansion pack is supposed to go live, so there are more people online than the usual. From the ratio of the people who are online on my friend list, I estimate about 30,000 online players. At this point, this should be correct... This alternate world is accomodating 30,000 Japanese. I'm not sure about North American, European, or Chinese server though."

Juliet nodded in agreement.

"So, there are 30,000 people here... I still can't get what you're trying to say."

"...We have 30,000 Japanese in a world with no laws or government."

Juliet's avatar face slowly turned pale.

"...That's right. Things like bullying... Harassment... Even rape... Those kinds of things... In a world with no institution to control 30,000 people with magical powers... It's not hard to imagine that there's a high chance that anarchy will follow soon."

Juliet couldn't say anything after all the facts are thrown out in the open. She could only focus on thinking what she should do, now that Kruger had made her realized their abysmal situation.

* * *

 **Author's Rambling:**

Well, this might be the final chapter that I upload for this week. Got lots of stuff to prepare for a weekend.

I haven't login in years, so the menu is a bit confusing. Couldn't even find the button to reply reviews lol

Anyways, thank you very much for the people who reviews! You guys are awesome!

I present this omake for you.

 **Omake:**

Shizuru: U fu fu fu *Evil Laugh*

Haruka: Wh-Why are you laughing like that, Bubuzuke?

Shizuru: Ara, just thinking about the things I could do to Natsuki now that we're stuck in a world with no laws and government.

Haruka: (O.o) (Kuga, I hope you equip some sort of chastity belt tonight...)

At a different place:

Natsuki: *Shudder* (Weird... Why do I feel cold when there's no wind or anything...)


	4. Catastrophe - Part 3

**Disclaimer: All Mai-Hime/Mai-Otome characters belong to Sunrise. The rest belong to Touno Mamare-Sensei (Log Horizon).**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Catastrophe Part 3**

 **Sunflower of Akiba**

Juliet headed towards the city with Kruger.

They tried to discuss further, but they lacked information. Hence, they couldn't conclude anything. They dediced that they need to focus on getting information for now.

This was common sense while playing Elder Tales, but they weren't sure if it was applicable now.

To play it safe, Juliet and Kruger formed a party.

Parties were a way for players to interact, it meant a battle team. Unlike guilds, parties were temporary groups allowing players in the same party to check each other's HP and status. Players could also tell each other's distance and direction when in the same zone.

Akiba was a non-combat zone.

If players fought here, no matter if your opponent was an NPC or a normal player, the Royal Guards would rush over in an instance and send players to a jail. If players attacked the Royal Guards, they would be executed on-site.

There were many characters not controlled by players in Elder Tales. Most of them are NPCs called Landers/People of the Land.

They mostly worked as shopkeepers selling all sorts of things, or helped with administration, such as guild registration. They also acted like pedestrians in the streets, interacting with players by providing informations or sometimes, quests.

Since all the Royal Guards were higher than level 100, players were unable to resist them. They were an absolute force to be reckon with as their levels will always be higher than players.

Monsters wouldn't appear in the city. According to common sense in the world of Elder Tales, Akiba was one of the safest regions in this world.

It was like summer once they exited the abandoned building, with the humid wind blowing across the whole city. The smell of mud was in the air, the grass and leaves swayed with the wind.

This scenery was too natural, making the idea 'we are in a game' vaporize from Kruger's mind. The presence of this world in her senses were too strong. The feeling of being in an alternate world was getting firmer; this was nothing like a game.

Making a turn at the avenue, they reached a major road with four lanes. At the corner was a high tech building made with composite materials, looking like a memorial. Head straight along the Akiba main road junction and you would reach the city square in front of the metro. Every building was either collaped or covered in vines, slowly being replaced by giant ancient trees.

This was not like Akiba in the real world, a high tech city made with glass and steel.

The colorful signboards and flashy decorations were broken, either slanting or broken in half, hanging off the giant silver leafed trees growing beside it.

The roads had been completely eroded by mud, and glimpses of the asphalt surface could only be seen on the major roads. The alleys were covered with mud and moss just like a trail in a natural park.

The hybrid cars that had been abandoned since ancient times were enveloped by grass and were the habitat of small animals.

This might be a sad sight, but it was still beautiful, like a painting in a way. It was not a polished kind of beauty, but the abandoned buildings decorated with the many colors of nature were full of life and vitality.

The players and NPCs occupied these ruins as their home and set up stalls and shops on the road side, giving it a feeling of a bazaar. This was the same as Kruger's home town in Elder Tales.

If it were the usual Elder Tales, there would be many players gathered in front of the city square, and people would set up shop and sell things to other players. Others would kill time here by waiting for comrades to go out for raids, it was a place full of life.

But this place right now was full of confusion, chaos, and a complicated sense of frustation.

She could see at least a few hundred players here.

Not only this, the surrounding ruins and narrow alleys that overlooked the plaza... She can also feel the stares of people standing on the deteriorated high-speed rails.

Everyone must be here hoping for some form of savior.

The game officials might appear in this place and explain the incident by announcing 'This concludes the event, isn't it impressive, everyone?'... They must have gathered here hoping for something like that.

Even the players bearing such whimsical hopes were letting down their guard and conversing with others. The noise volume that she could hear was lower that she expected from such a crowd.

They gathered in clusters all over the place. Some threw worried glances around, some would sob, while others would vent by cursing out loud.

They may have realized unconsciously that anything might happen. But the crowd had no intention of doing anything about it, which annoyed Kruger.

(Do they plan to sit here forever? Really? Wah, I met someone's gaze!)

Kruger moved her sight away in surprise.

A pair of sorrowful eyes looked at her, pleading for help.

Kruger didn't think that she was mentally weak, but she didn't want to test herself in those muddy eyes.

And...

(...This is irritating.)

Just squatting there as if they were paralyzed.

Not doing anything, yet still complaining, irritated Kruger. She could emphatize with them, but the sight of a few hunded players looking crestfallen wasn't good for their psychological health.

Kruger was able to take action after overcoming her initial dejection by chance, and she got a hold of her emotions after meeting Juliet. She was no different than the players sitting there waiting to be saved, and Kruger understood that. Maybe that was the reason the feeling of irritation was so much stronger for her.

* * *

"Kruger? Isn't that Kruger-chan?"

That came from a cheerful female voice. It wasn't too loud, but in this quiet and depressed atmosphere, the cheerful bell-like voice attacted a lot of attention.

Kruger turned and looked for the source in surprise.

"Mai? Uh, you're too loud. And, stop with the chan!"

"It's like a funeral procession here, what's the problem with that?"

Kruger was pulled by Mai's hand. The woman who ignored Kruger's words and kept on talking was a female player, Mai.

"You came at the right time, I was just looking for Kruger-kun."

"...Huh? Why were you looking for me?"

Kruger was having a hard time to think straight due to the large breast, taking up her attention.

(Geez, I thought that only our face has any resemblance from our real world body. But, Mai's breast just proved my theory wrong. While mine is... Ugh...)

Kruger looked down gloomily.

"Uwah! Kruger, where were you hiding this hot chick? You boobs hentai."

Juliet's remark caused a headache to start and Kruger started rubbing her head.

The three of them left the city square slowly and entered an in-conspicuous alley. They didn't leave because they did anything wrong, but the atmosphere in the city square might give them stomachache. Furthermore, they were talking to Mai, who was more famous than Kruger, so they had to be aware of their surroundings.

"What an impatient girl you are Kruger-kun, bringing me to a place like this. Viola-san would cry if she knows."

"Ugh... That's not it... And, please don't tell her."

Kruger could imagine the hell that she had to go through if a certain information were received by a certain woman. She was after all, just trying to find a nice place to talk.

"Is this red-haired girl your new girl? Ah, but I don't think that Viola-san would let that to happen."

Mai put a finger to her lips, as if she was thinking hard.

"That's not it, either. Sorry, this is Juliet. A friend."

"I'm Juliet, A friend. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Mai. Wow! Juliet-chan is also hot. Are you guys a combo? I'm happy that Kruger-chan wouldn't be alone all the time now."

Mai laughed gently. Although Kruger was observing her and trying to see if she had any hidden meaning behind this, there was no sign of malicious intent on her smiling face. For Kruger, Mai was hard to deal with because she always meant what she said.

Mai, who was smiling so warmly despite the situation that they were in, was a Cleric.

There were 12 classes in Elder Tales, all the players meaning all the Adventurers, had to choose one of these classes to begin their adventure. Among the 3 healer classes, Clerics had the strongest healing abilities.

Healers helped survivability, but were weak in melee attack. It is a class suitable for adventuring with parties, but not for solo plays. The principle of the healer class was to assist others, players who chose this class were usually introverts, but Mai was an exception.

Wearing a long white robe for healers and a head long green hair, she was an elf which usually had a cute appearance. She looked just like she did in Elder Tales. Because it was a game world, all the players were hunks and beauties, but some players just had the charms and charisma to attract the goodwill of others.

In Elder Tales which had a voice chat function, this was even more obvious. Mai had a cheerful voice and helpful nature, a lot of players knew her. Instead of just being popular with the opposite sex, she was popular with everyone because of her forthright style.

Mai would not act like a spoiled girl and was admired by people of both genders. Kruger was a veteran player, so she knew a lot of people. But Mai was different from Kruger, a player who enjoyed helping others and had a wide network of friends.

Mai was the guildmaster of the Crescent Moon Alliance, which had about a dozen or so members. She could hold parties in the pub in Akiba frequently, so she was well known in Elder Tales. She was known as the 'Sunflower of Akiba'.

"You have a gloomy expression."

"Huh? Uh... Well, that's normal in this situation, right."

Having a long face was normal in this situation, but she thought about how her facial feature in real world would refelct on the body of this world.

In the real world, Kruger had been described as having 'Death Glare'. She wasn't one who expressed what she wanted to say through words, but mostly through her eyes. Most of the time, her eyes showed her annoyance more than anything else.

In the Elder Tales that had become reality, hearing others call her gloomy made Kruger to think that they had discovered her 'Death Glare' from the real world, so she was a bit frantic.

(But Mai is also...)

Looking at Mai, you could see that there were some differences between her and the typical forest elves.

"Anyway, I also don't want to be gloomy and I can understand how you feel. I've had enough, this is so ridiculous that I'm feeling psychotic."

Bright purple eyes, the contours of an elf with a hint of nobility, the slightly thick brows, and a big mouth that was smiling warmly. You could tell from her face that she was kind and warm, just how the real Mai would look like.

She had never seen Mai in person before, but Kruger could feel that 'Ah, this is indeed Mai'.

"What kind of look this is? Hmph, you must be thinking this is not my style, right?"

Mai touched Kruger's forehead gently with her finger.

"My joking nature is my hobby, but the jokes I'm making now are escapism. I'm really troubled right now."

"Is she always like this, Kruger?"

"Yeah, she's always like this."

"But, is she pretending right now?"

"I can't tell the difference."

Mai's escapist remark surprised Juliet, but Juliet was beginning to understand her personality. Mai laughed loudly at Juliet's reservations towards her, but she stopped and sighed under the stares of Kruger and Juliet.

"Right, hmmm... The situation is bad."

"Yes... Wanna exchange information?"

"That's fine, where should we start? No, I remember, hmm, let's be careful and talk at my place. Would you mind, Juliet-chan?"

Mai invited them to her guild hall.

They could relax there, so the trio went around the Fulleger hotel and headed towards the guild building.

The guild building was a facility available in all cities and they usually housed other facilities, forming a multipurpose mega structure.

For Akiba, the guild building itself was a zone with several NPCs working in the lobby. They were the staff of this guild building, you could form a guild by going to them. Players could join or withdraw from a guild by talking to them and going through the administrative process.

There was also a branch of the bank here. Everyone in this game world had a bank account used to deposit cash or valuable items.

There was also another important function for the guild building, the rental of guild halls. Guild halls were independent mid-sized zones, ranging from 3 to 10 rooms of living space that doubled as an office.

Some zones were open for sale in Elder Tales and players could buy and own them. They could set permissions for the purchased zone to allow the entry of specific players and design the interior of the zone as they liked, so many players also bought a small to medium-sized area as their residence.

Although it was purchased, they needed to pay maintenance fee apart from the indicated price. The upkeep fee is 0.2% of the sale price per month, so only players with a certain amount of wealth would dare to buy it.

That's how guild halls came about, a zone that was specially made for guilds to rent. A guild that had a large enough scale would rent a guild hall in the guild building. This way, items, ingredients and crafted items could be stored there, it also allowed members to gather and interact.

Crescent Moon Alliance was such a guild, having their own personal space in this guild building.

Kruger and Juliet walked up the stairs to the second floor of the guild building.

Going through a set of double doors, Kruger and Juliet registered as visitors and entered the guild hall of Crescent Moon Alliance.

The guild halls in Akiba guild building had a basic retro design. Even though it was a basic design, it was just because of the floor and wallpaper that it gave off this feeling.

You could decorate the zone you rented or bought any way you wanted to. The guild hall of Crescent Moon Alliance had been cleaned thoroughly by its members, making it a comfortable place.

The walls were wooden veneer, giving it a warm familial feeling.

"We shouldn't be disturbing other people if we talk here."

Mai walked further into the guild hall as she said this.

* * *

 **Author's Rambling**

Thanks for the support, guys!

I was a bit in a dilemma over what to name Mai since she has the same name in both Hime & Otome. I decided to just leave it as it. Henrietta is another character that would be hard for me to imagine any Mai-Hime/Mai-Otome character to replace her. Hmm...


	5. Catastrophe - Part 4

**Disclaimer: All Mai-Hime/Mai-Otome characters belong to Sunrise. The rest belong to Touno Mamare-Sensei (Log Horizon).**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Catastrophe Part 4**

 **Guild**

"Come in. Ah, no need to hold back, take a seat. Please take a seat too, Juliet-chan."

After entering a room deep within the guild hall, Mai pounced on a couch full of pink pillows and gestured for Kruger and Juliet to sit.

"This is quite a feminine room."

"That's right. I'm a guild master after all, so my room needs to reflect the dignity of a guild master."

Pink pillows, teddy bears, a princess bed, a painting of a noble-looking dog, and curtains with yellow laces. These decorations, in Kruger's eyes, had nothing to do with the word dignity. Kruger felt distraught staying in a place like this.

She wouldn't feel this way if it were a screen from a game, but she could feel this atmosphere as she entered this space for real.

She felt restless like an intruder in a private room. Fortunately, it was the forthright Mai's room; if it was the private room of any other girl, Kruger would have definitely retreated.

But even if the decor was too flashy, the room of the guild master was very spacious. They also had 5-6 rooms for storage and workspace, a rental for a guild hall like this must be quite high.

(Hmm, 40,000 with an upkeep of 80... Around that price...)

Kruger estimated in secret. This was the first time she was invited into this guild hall.

"How is your side coping with this, Mai?"

"There are 19 people online including me, 18 of us are in Akiba. Everyone is afraid and is staying inside the guild hall... Ah, don't be too concerned, they won't hear us if we're not too noisy."

Mai should have been prepared for this as she answered Kruger's query smoothly.

18 in Akiba, meaning 1 of them was in another zone. Kruger found out after asking, that member was on an errand in another city.

"From what we know, Shibuya, Minami, Susukino, and Nakasu are in the same state."

This meant all 5 cities in Akiba's server were in the same situation. Mai should have confirmed this using her wide network of friends.

"Could it be that..."

"That's right, the inter-city transport gate has stopped functioning, we have been isolated."

Mai answered Juliet's queries, this was new information for both Kruger and Juliet.

Akiba, Shibuya, Minami, Susukino, and Nakasu.

These 5 places were the 5 major player cities in the Japanese server. Apart from these 5 cities, there were also many cities populated by stores and NPCs, but in terms of completeness of available services for players, these 5 cities were top class.

These 5 major cities had been set to be starting cities as expansion packs increased the game contents. All players on the Japanese servers had to choose one of these 5 cities as their base of operation.

There was also an inter-city transport gate in each of the 5 major player cities, so it was possible to move instantaneously between these 5 cities. However, they were not functioning after Elder Tales became reality.

"It means that going to Shibuya is still okay, but other cities will be difficult."

"Even if it's Shibuya, eh... How many was it... We need to go through around 7-8 zones to reach it, I think..."

"The shortest distance is 4 zones."

Kruger replied casually. The inter-city gates being down was a major problem.

Elder Tales, which had a fantasy setting, used horses or walking as a primary means of transportation for Adventurers. But with the implementation of the Half Gaia Project that created this world at half its scale, traveling this way took too much time. To deal with this issue, the game had Fairy Rings and the inter-city transport gates as an alternate means of travel.

The inter-city gates were set in the player cities, allowing you to teleport instantly to any of the 5 major player cities. With these gates down, the difficulty of commuting with far away cities had increased rapidly.

Take Susukino for instance, it was situated in Sapporo in the real Japan, from Akiba... From Tokyo to Sapporo, players need to go through a vast amount of zones that it would take them at least a week even in the game.

That was referring to in-game time, but in-game time should be the same as the time of this new reality from the look of things.

"Can you imagine... Why did things turn out this way?"

Kruger and the others could only answer with silence.

Seeing Mai's dejected expression, Kruger wished to answer this question, but she didn't have the ability, nor the knowledge to do do.

"Cheer up, Mai... Things are serious now, but it could be worse."

"Is that so?..."

Juliet continued talking to the depressed Mai.

"Even though we're trapped in this alternate world, there should be tens of thousand of Japanese here, right? Including the hundreds of thousand of players overseas, we have so many people in the same boat as us, so it's not the worse case scenario, right? We have a common language, some money on hand, and we can still talk in this room after barging into this world, isn't this the best evidence? I haven't confirmed it yet, but our stamina seems to have strengthened according to our character's status, we can use swords and magics. In other words, we have been given the basic ability to survive in this world. Compared to classic fantasy novels where the characters travel to an alternate world, we are much more fortunate, you can even say it's a piece of cake."

Juliet encouraged her strongly.

"Are you familiar with such things, Juliet?"

"I'm quite alright, I've read quite a bit about this when I was still at school."

Even though it was a pointless question, Kruger was still impressed by Juliet. That made a lot of sense. She was used to seeing things pessimistically, that's why she missed the cheerful part.

"Yeah... You're right!"

Mai looked at Juliet with gratitute and hugged her all of a sudden. Juliet's face was between what seemed to be 2 very fluffy pillows.

"You're right! Juliet-chan! I'm so moved!"

"H-Hold on! Uh... What's with her!?"

Juliet struggled under Mai's embrace, but Mai ignored her and hugged her tighter.

"Mai? You have visitors?"

A chestnut blonde lady knocked as she entered. She had an awkward expression as she looked at Mai and Juliet.

"Sorry to intrude, Shamrock-san."

"Hello, Kruger-sama... Should I come back later?"

"Well, I was hoping that you could stop her."

"On it. Really... Mai! Don't act in such a shameful manner!"

The lady interrupting on Kruger's request was Shamrock, who was in charge of Crescent Moon Alliance financial accounts. She pulled Mai back by her shoulder and lectured her.

"Wah! Shamrock-chan? I just heard some great words, Juliet-chan is right! She gave such a great speech!"

"I'm not asking about that! Now is a crucial time, please consider the situation and act appropriately!"

Seeing the blushing and exhausted Juliet, together with Mai and Shamrock's interaction, Kruger laughed.

Shamrock was a core member of the Crescent Moon Alliance and on good terms with Kruger.

She was a Bard in charge of the guild's finances, a competent and responsible character.

With a dark blonde hair, an oval face and sharp crimson eyes, she gave the air of a strict secretary. Gallagher was wearing office clothing that showed off her mature beauty, which suited her well.

Kruger was just a graduate student who liked gaming. When their eyes met, Kruger felt inferior.

After Shamrock joined in, the four of them talked about their experiences so far and summarized their situation... But it had only been half a day, they still didn't really understand what happened.

"What should we do now..."

"I think that we should get in touch with our comrades through telepathy to avoid any confusion."

Shamrock made a calm suggestion and Kruger agreed. Don't think too far ahead, just do what you could for now, or you would be swallowed up by the current state of affairs. This was what Kruger felt.

"That is correct, Mai. Kruger-sama and Juliet-sama both made good points. Fortunately we have a guild hall, so for sleeping at night... It might be a bit of a squeeze, but I think that it would be better for everyone to sleep here for now."

"That's right..."

Juliet flinched after hearing Mai and Shamrock's conversation.

"What is it, Juliet?"

"Nothing, just that this is so sudden, I'm not sure what to do."

Juliet denied in a hurry when she heard Kruger's question. She was always making dirty jokes, but seemed so weak to direct attacks.

"Is Juliet-chan weak against breasts? Want to touch mine?"

Mai offered with a big smile.

Juliet averted her eyes at Mai's words, although she still took a peek. Breasts held the hopes and desires of healthy lesbians after all.

(Well... Mai is a beauty with a big bust after all... I can understand Nao's reaction.)

Kruger agreed in her heart.

Kruger was also 'sexually harassed' by Mai when they first met. But Kruger insisted on putting on the attitude of 'Ah? What about these 2 lumps of fat? They're heavy, please take them away'.

There was no need to emphasize on it, that was just Kruger's trying to be vain.

The Elder Tales then was just a game, so the teasing was just through voice chat communication, while the screen showed their characters sticking together. Mai had stopped teasing Kruger since she got bored of Kruger's placid reaction.

"Why is this onee-chan so bold? It's scary."

"Mai graduated from an all-girls school... Mai! It doesn't matter since this is a game, but now is a crucial time so restrain yourself!"

Mai bore Shamrock's lecture with a dejected expression. The fact that she would humbly accept criticism, even though she was the guild master, was Mai's good point.

Kruger didn't join any guild and didn't trust the guild system, but that didn't mean she disliked players in guilds.

It had been several years since she developed her hate of guilds. She didn't really get over it, but she was able to accept it now.

She had formed parties with Mai and Shamrock several times. Mai with her wide network of friends also gave Kruger a lot of help. If Kruger was not mistaken, the cheerful Mai who liked to take care of others would keep her distance from Kruger who was afraid of personal relationships as a way to show her concern.

(Mai is mature in a different way from Nao.)

She didn't do it to curry favor with Kruger or to balance their mutually beneficial relationship. The blessings that came along with Mai's personality and kind nature, she didn't just give it to Kruger, but to all those around her. Kruger thought so.

(But this type of skinship... is kind of bordering on sexual harassment. Ah right, Nao is similar to me, that's why they hit it off so well...)

The Crescent Moon Alliance members probably gathered here out of their admiration of Mai. It was a heavy responsibility to take care of almost 20 guild members.

Since Mai was a trustworthy and kind mother hen, Kruger decided to explain in detail everything that she had considered.

As Kruger explained Mai paid special attention about the issues with battles and pointed out questions. She frowned when she heard about the number of people in the server and the conflict that players might get into.

"I see... You're right. After listening to you, I think that that's very possible. Apart from violent incidents, there might be scams and pranks as well..."

Unlike Kruger who only needed to look after himself, Mai needed to protect all her comrades, and she was also a woman as well.

"That's right! Listen to her, onee-san! Don't do that again, you need to have some common sense, having a small brain is not good!"

"Uh... You're right! My breasts are big, but my brain is small! But we just met, do you need to be so ruthless, Juliet-chan? Juliet-chan is annoying, Baka! Baka!"

"Nope, Juliet-sama has a point. You need to correct this habit that you have of hugging people since high school."

"These things don't matter, right? Shamrock, your real name is Umeko, anyways!"

"Urgh! I told you not to use that!"

From the way they interacted, Mai and Shamrock knew each other in real life. She was not sure how much of this serious topic went into their heads. Kruger's head started to hurt.

"Really, let's ignore this stupid girl... So, we can't solve our current situation any time soon..."

"I think that it would be better not to have such expectations."

Kruger answered Shamrock's question reluctantly.

"Isn't there something we can do about it..."

Mai frowned as she said this, unable to accept that.

The information that they had on hand was too limited.

Among all the things they could do, they prioritized gathering data, but that was not what everyone else would do.

Mai was not a solo player, she had to protect a lot of people as a guild master. But at the same time, she had more ways to handle things.

Guilds might be a common entity, but their structures varied.

The goals, activities, and scale differed for each guild. It was an organization that could be different from each other.

In terms of contents of activities, an example would be combat guilds. One form of entertainment in Elder Tales was fighting, these type of guilds were made to support the members in battles, their activities were raiding either in the open world or dungeons. Adventures joined these guilds as it was convenient for them to form parties and fight as a team. Since the members knew each other, they would be more inclined to invite each other to form parties, and their team work would also be better.

Akiba was the biggest player city with the highest amount of players on the Japanese server, the famous combat guilds were the Black Sword Knights, Honesty, D.D.D and West Wind Brigade.

Another type was production guilds. Apart from the battle abilities of the Elder Tales main classes, there were also all kinds of subclasses. Players who chose a production subclass which could forge items were known as artisans. The levels of the main class and subclasses were separated. You could level up both at the same time, but there were some who relied solely on their subclass skills to enjoy the joys of running a business quietly in the city, instead of running around dungeons to get Phantasmal-class items.

Items ranks from the highest: Phantasmal-class, Artifact-class, Production-class, Magical-class, and Normal-class. For more detail: .me/wiki/Items

As guilds had the ability to provide ingredients in bulk as well as warehouse usage, they enjoyed more advantages the more members they had. Famous production guilds in Akiba: Oceanic Systems, Rodrick Firm, and 8th Shopping District.

Mai's Crescent Moon Alliance was a small-scale adventure support guild. These guilds supported both combat and production, a guild that helped each other and their members to achieve their goal. As they didn't specialize in any domain, their members didn't stand to gain much benefit, but the selling point was the warmth and peaceful atmosphere. Most small guilds belong to the adventure support style.

In this group of guilds, Cresecent Moon Alliance enjoyed quite a bit of fame.

There were not as famous or influential as major combat guilds. Their income and scale paled in comparison to production guilds, but their support for mid-level players and their flexibility was evaluated highly by other players.

"Anyways, I think the first thing is that we should protect ourselves."

"Correct. From what I see, there are a lot of girls in this guild, right?"

Shamrock nodded at Kruger and Juliet's points. Although battles were restricted in the city zones, there was no telling what might happen. There were also no ways to confirm the battle restrictions were still in effect.

(We need to find out about this later too.)

Kruger added a new page to her mental note.

"Also, I think that you should recall all the market items that you put out for sale."

"Hmm? Market? Why?"

The market here referred to the services provided by NPCs in major player cities. Players could deposit their goods with specific NPCs and set a price to sell them.

Although the players usually traded among themselves, if they have any excess crafted products or ingredients, the market was a convenient feature.

"Crescent Moon Alliance should have a lot of resources even for a small-scale adventure support guild, right? I think that the members also deposited a lot of items to sell at the market. Even if it's still early, the price might change drastically, the items might have some new effects or new ways of using them. If you can spare the cash, I think that it'd be better not to sell the items you have on hand at this moment."

"Yeah, got it. You're right."

"Ah, we can't check things online anymore."

Mai and Shamrock nodded their heads seriously.

When Elder Tales was still a game, Kruger and the rest were in front of a monitor and could surf the net as they played the game, which was the usual way of playing the game.

Elder Tales was a huge and unbelievably complex game, the amount of information in the game world could not be grasped by any single player.

The trusty tools supporting these players were the online guides.

The maps and features of each zone, how to get to a specific zone, what monsters would appear, items, where you could certain NPCs and so on.

Browsing for this information as you played was the commonc way to play Elder Tales.

Although the online guides were not perfect, it would still contain popular zones or effective ways to grind.

They would also note 'places that you should definitely stay away from.'

"We came this time to exchange information because it will be important from now on. Everybody remembers that today, the new expansion pack is live, right?"

"The Novasphere's Pioneers, correct?"

"Yes, not only new zones, we'll also need information... For old zones as well as the city. Right now, we can't check online even if we run into any minute problems.

"That's right..."

The 4 of them then proceed to draw a map centered around Akiba based on what they still remember.

Even though there were tens of thousand of zones in the Japanese server. They also included all the hotel rooms, small ruins, and personal spaces rented out to players like this guild hall.

The 'field zones' including the forest, hills, the desolated suburbs and relics, as well as the relative fewer 'dungeon zones' that included the underground metro or gigantic building structures. But such zones still numbered in the thousands, even Kruger couldn't be sure that she remembered all of them clearly.

But Kruger was still an 8 year veteran player, her knowledge of Elder Tales surpassed other players. Juliet was on hiatus for a while, but she still had deep knowledge on the zones in the early eras. The 2 of them compared their recollections with Mai's and Shamrock's. Together, they drew a servicable, but imperfect map of how the zones were connected.

Writing the zones and linking them with lines, Kruger's group listed out hundreds of zone-names surrounding Akiba zone.

Although they didn't know the necessity of investigating all the zones, this was better than nothing.

"Thank you Kruger-chan and Juliet-chan."

"I've been in your care all this while after all."

Kruger blushed a little, but it was still noticable on her pale Half-Alv skin.

"This is nothing to worry about, onee-chan."

Juliet gave Mai a charming wink.

"You guys have been such a big help."

Mai winked and Kruger's blush became redder. She was not used to being thanked in the open like that. Gamers usually just type 'GG' or 'Good Game' when they've succeeded their mission to thank their comrades.

(Ah, I think I understand now why Viola-san likes to tease her. Really, she blushes so easily.)

Mai gave Kruger a big smile like a sunflower as she said this.

"I can't leave Mai alone after all."

Mai blushed as she heard this.

(Urgh... That's bad, Kruger-chan. You shouldn't be so charming like that... Viola-san will kill me if she knows.)

"What? Even Kruger-chan is saying that, I'm finished. I'm fated to be a brainless dumb woman, what should I do Shamrock?"

"Start by restraining your playful nature?"

Kruger averted her gaze in a hurry. The glare from the red-haired Juliet, right beside her, made her to feel as if she was being slashed by a killing blow.

(I got it already, she's yours... Geez...)

Kruger sent a defeated look at Juliet.

"Ne, wanna touch my breast? Do you want to?"

Mai tried tempting Juliet after seeing Kruger ignored her. Juliet knocked her head without a word.

"Y-You hit me?"

Kruger thought that Mai's action was a way for her to conceal her embarassment, but Juliet seemed to be doing the same thing in hindsight. It was interesting to see Juliet stopped her.

(Is it because Nao don't want us seeing her touching Mai's breast... Is it just a simple possessiveness... Hmm... As I thought, I don't really understand this kind of thing... Maybe I can ask Shizuru later...)

"Don't you have the ability to reflect on your actions, you booby girl!"

"Don't say booby! And what's with you, Juliet-chan? Are my breasts so bad? Are you treating me like a grandma? Just cause it's a bit big, my breast hasn't sag that much, you know!"

"I don't know for sure, but you're not at grandma level yet, we should be about the same age right?"

Juliet whispered her birth year to Shamrock, who nodded her head.

"Mai is 3 years older than you."

"So, I'm at the grandma level after all... An inferior product left on the shelf, that's why Juliet-chan is turning into a bad girl and acting rebellious against me? My poor breasts, already treated like wrinkled puddings..."

Mai swung her legs on the couch to express her dissatisfaction.

(She's still obsessed over this, in this kind of situation... Mai deserves my respect in another sense.)

She had this kind of energy the first day that she was stuck in this kind of situation, it must be Mai's nature. Kruger was speechless.

But Juliet patted her head seeing Mai throwing a tantrum. Although it looked like someone soothing a big dog, Mai was starting to calm down.

"It's about time for us to go, we've stayed quite a while... We'll observe the situation outside some more."

After making her intent known to the disgruntled Mai and Shamrock who had a serious face, Kruger stood up.

"Yeah, we should go... Sorry for intruding!"

Ig had been half a day since the Catastrophe happened, some people might have pull themselves together and battled with monsters once or twice.

Kruger and Juliet bid farewell to the two still sitting on the couch.

"I apologize for my poor hospitality," said Shamrock politely, while Mai stopped swinging her legs, stood up and looked straight at Kruger and Juliet.

"Kruger-chan and Juliet-chan... Um, it might not be the right time to say this, but would you consider for your own convenience... Would you like to join us... to join the Crescent Moon Alliance?"

Mai said this hesitantly unlike her usual nature.

"It's nothing important. I know that you don't feel comfortable staying in a guild, but in the current situation... I think that it'd be helpful to join a guild. I think that Juliet-chan is also not in a guild... So, I wanna try asking."

Her troubled expression evolved into a face that wanted to convince them.

From her voice, she didn't want to strengthen her guild by making use of Kruger and Juliet, but out of her pure kindness.

"Our guild is very relaxed and won't tie you down. We won't do anything that irritates you. The young ones here also challenged dungeons together with Kruger-chan before, right? Like the underground Shinshuku or Nakasu commercial building. I don't know why you're not in any guild yet, but I feel that our Crescent Moon Alliance... It's a comfortable place to reside in. What do both of you think?"

Mai was not sure how to interpret Kruger's silence and added these words while gesturing her hands frantically. Her smooth short red hair swaying on her white healer robes, it looked like her way of showing concern in Kruger's eyes.

"..."

Juliet looked at Kruger in silence.

These eyes were saying 'It's up to you'. To stay here or continue to roam freely, that was up to you to decide. Juliet expressed this to Kruger.

Kruger was not in middle school anymore.

Even though she still had misgivings for being used like a piece of equipment, she was able to let it go eventually. But a feeling she was unable to describe in words was hindering Kruger's decision.

"Sorry, Mai. I can't, yet."

"I see... Uhm, it can't be helped them."

Mai had an expression of regret for an instant but smiled as usual straight after. Her smile was as cheerful as a sunflower, giving Kruger a sensation of salvation.

If they could go back to their original world, if they received the miracles of god or due to some coincidence...

If Kruger walked past her in the streets, she was confident that she would know it was Mai.

Her healer robes, that full head of smooth red hair, these were all equipment or elements of the 3D digital models of Elder Tales. But Mai's smile belonged to Mai alone, no one else or even any gaming engine could emulate her.

"Just tell us if you need anything, we'd be happy to help."

"That's right, just call me if you need a reliable guardian."

"Yeah. Kruger-chan, Juliet-chan, thank you both. Contact me if you need anything as well."

Kruger waved goodbye to both of them and hoped to be as strong as Mai herself.

* * *

Both players found themselves walking around the market to find more information. Without realizing how fast time goes, the sun was setting.

"Should we go to the inn now?"

"Uhm... You go ahead. I have somewhere else to be."

"Huh? Where?... Oh! Are you running to your master now?"

Juliet's tease was rewarded with Kruger's full face blush.

"Sh-Shut it! I'm just gonna look for information. You know how she is if I bring other people when I'm seeing her."

"Yup, totally jealous."

Juliet answered in a monotone voice.

"Ugh..."

"Why are you still in the grey zones, anyways? Isn't it time to make it official? Nothing's bad gonna happen if you do that, you know. She's hot, rich, and famous. Girls line up for her and here she is, begging for you."

"Would you stop that! I'm just going to get more information. My relationship with her is not the problem we have at this moment."

"Sigh.. You're just using this situation to go around the real problem, which is how both of you feel towards one another."

Kruger gave an icy glare at Juliet.

"Are you done? I'm already a bit late."

"Yeah, yeah. Go run to your master, mutt. I'm just gonna book us a place at that inn... But, are you sure I should book a room for two people tonight?"

Kruger ignored Juliet's last remark and walked straight to the place that she yearned to go ever since she arrived in this world.

* * *

 **Author's Rant:**

I was reading ShizNat doujin, the one when Kruger & Viola were still students at Garderobe. Mai was there and she was quite the interesting character, most of the time she was using Natsuki as currency to trade things with Viola. That's how I think that she's quite the playful character like Marielle, plus both have similar boob size LOL

Henrietta is a bit hard for any Mai-Hime/Otome characters to substitute. At first it was supposed to be Sara Gallagher, Mai's room attendant in most of Otome doujins. But I can't really picture her as someone who could lecture Mai. Then, I just look for the most graceful & secretary-like character in Otome, Una Shamrock.

Btw, I don't think that I've ever written/said anywhere that this story will be primarily Shiznat, nor will this story primarily focus on Romance. If you can't understand that, then maybe this story is not for you. There are other Shiznat fanfics that you can enjoy if all you want are girl-meets-girl, kiss, sex, and happy ending.

This story is Mai-Hime/Otome Characters + Log Horizon World. Pretty sure, I wrote it on the disclaimer on every chapter so far. If you can't read and understand that, then maybe this is not for you :-)


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